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International Women’s Day 2019 – #BalanceforBetter

Happy International Women’s Day 2019!

It is a day of celebration of female successes in our business but also a day of reflection on changes that have been happening with our clients in their industries.

Diversity and gender balance had been a phrase that many businesses and industries had paid lip service to, however as service providers who work at the coal face of change in Talent, we have noticed a significant shift over the last couple of years.

The work of the 30% Club and similar organisations have helped to empower organisations and female leaders to achieve their goals, whether it is supporting further education of High Potentials or arranging mentoring programs to support female leaders, there is a grassroots change happening.

We in Red Tree have noticed this change in practice across many of our clients, gender balance quotas are becoming imbedded in Talent Management whereby some clients are seeking 50/50 split on CV’s submitted for all roles. Other examples are where female candidates are selected for interview where they hit 75% of the job spec criteria. The best fit for the job will be selected, but by allowing more women to get to interview stage and prove their ability, over time the stats will move.

As a mother of two young women, this change cannot come quick enough. The ground work in our Education System is supporting this change, the great strides with encouraging more girls into STEM subjects has started to filter through. Having more female role models in leaderships roles will encourage the future generations irrespective of gender to see that gender balance is a norm, not a policy.

So, enjoy the day, celebrate women’s success and let’s continue the great work!

Noreen O’Keeffe is a Director of Red Tree Recruitment and is our Head of Insurance and Compliance Recruitment.